Jim is a professional coach with over 40 years of Olympic-level experience,
for 4 National Teams, in 3 sports, in two countries, two of those as Head
Coach. Most of his recent years has been spent privately coaching athletes
from many countires around the world. Beginning in 2005, Jim's goal has been
to "settle down" and spend more time in the USA, especially with youth.
Jim's Sailing Background

Former
Team, Pan Am, and Olympic Coach

Former
XC Development Coach, Coaches Education

Former
Head Coach

Former
Head Coach

Equipment is nice,
but it is knowledge and skill that gets
someone to the top.

Browse around the site, and you will find a
wealth of information and links, for sailors as well as for event organizers.
There are of course some products here that are for sale, they are here to
help support the coaching and coaching programs for youth. This is not trying
to be a retail store, just a place to come to get information, ideas, and
the occasional product that I find that really offers something extra.

AS
the years go by, we change along with everything else in the world. We are
now more focused on custom lines for small dinghies and catamarans, along
with our continuing efforts to keep some older classes still enjoyed by their
sailors afloat with the parts and pieces needed. In the coaching world, we
are doing less; less means less travel, fewer hours lost in airports and on
the road, and more time at home. We are doing less medium and long term projects,
and have even cut back on weekend clinics and seminars. Jim isn't using the
"retirement" word because he says he doesn't know what that means,
but more home time is now the priority here. We still stay in touch with our
sailor and coach friends at the top of the world in their classes, pushing
the boundaries of what can be done on the water!

The photo on the right is one of Jim's, training the Odyessy Racing team
of Stephanie Hudson and Dalton Tebo on Sarasota Bay in November of 2015. The
pictured Nacra 17 has curved boards, making it known as a 'semi-foiling' boat.
The class, after the 2016 Olympics in Rio (won by an old friend from Jim's
Tornado days, Santiago Lange from Argentina) has voted and moved on, with
World Sailing approving for the 2020 Olympics an upgraded version of the boat
with full-foiling boards and rudders. So instead of just flying 'sometimes',
its on full-speed-ahead to flying almost all the time!

Meanwhile, Optis are still Optis, with no sign of any slow-down anywhere
in youth sailing. And club 420s are still club 420s with a huged base in all
of North America - but signs of a few more of the light-weight, International
420, making its way into the US. We're excited for the new year, we hope you
all have a great season!

In case you blinked ....

The International Sailing Federation, the world-wide governing body
of sailing, has changed its name to World Sailing, and with it a subtle
adjustment to its logo (on the sidebar on the left.) Nothing else, just a
name, so now we don't have to say "eye-seff" (ISAF), we can
just say "World Sailing", aligning with the names of many
of the national federations, such as our own US Sailing.

Web Site Security

On our web site here, you do not need to have any concerns at all, we do
not gather any personal information when you are visiting, and for those of
you concerned about online purchases, we do not collect or store any of your
information, and we don't ask you to register or set up an account to read
what we have to say or to buy from us. All purchases here are done through
PayPal, using their very secure
and reliable resources, no credit card information comes to us al all.

Articles

We are doing some background work on the web site, and amoung the things
we are adding are some articles that Jim has written over the years that still
apply. The first one up is an article titled "Mind
Games", written for US Sailing back in 1983, but still loaded with
advice that applies to the racing sailors of today. Click the title to read
the pdf.

ZIM

At Zim World Headquarters in Warren, RI, they continue to add
and inovate to their collection of boats aimed specifically at serving the
youth, sailing school, and club markets. Visit their web site at ZimSailing.com
for complete info.

Rules

The Rules; The Racing Rules
of Sailing get modified/unpdated every four years, and 2017 begins a new
4-year cycle. Click the link to see the new Rules, and make sure you are current
when you get on the water this season.

And did you know that most classes use something called the Equipment
Rules of Sailing to standardize the definitions of all of the parts and
pieces, including sails, on the boats that we play on? These Rules make sure
we are all speaking the same language. Take a look, and improve your own understanding
of the sport.

Better,
Smarter, Faster

Every year brings more opportunities to get ahead - or fall further behind.
This season of training and racing has already started, and our training philosophy
reflects how we view the way to move up in this sport. Has your team/club
signed up? We have a very busy schedule, with only a few time slots still
open later in the summer.

International Customers shopping on-line here;
Estimated Shipping will be added to all orders from Australia and Canada;
for all others, your shopping cart will show $0 shipping, we will calculate
the best rate and send you an electronic bill for charges before shipping.

Hike out, go fast,
have fun!

That's how sailing should
be!!

Some
of our Training Sessions

On-Line Shopping

If you see something listed on our shopping pages and there is no "Add
to Cart" button next to it, that means that we are out of stock. Simply
drop us a note and we'll let you know when we expect
to be able to ship.

Need to upgrade your youth program? Nothing like a fleet of new boats
to get kids - and their parents - more excited about what you are doing. Jim
can help, with Optis and C420s from Zim, as well as the right kind of advice
and help to make your program better. Contact us.

How Serious are You About Getting
Better?

Jan 14, 2007, Rush Creek Yacht Club, Dallas TX, 10-12 mph winds, and 25°
F: Some of my Opti training group that got in 4 hours sailing that day, the
middle day of a 5 day training camp that totaled over 18 hours of sailing
while the rest of Dallas was hiding from from the freezing rain and ice.

What are YOU doing to get better? If your idea of winter is sitting inside
and waiting, then these sailors just got farther ahead of you. You can't catch
anyone by doing less work. (And these kids will tell you that they all had
fun - they all had on the right gear including waterproof socks - and will
never be intimidated by any Yankee sailor's stories about frostbiting!)

(The fog in the background of the photo is the typical 'steam' cloud that
rises above a lake when the air is much colder than the water, heat and moisture
leaving the lake surface. Its common on lakes just before they feeze.)